Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 35 of her Department's publication entitled the Cabinet Office annual report and accounts 2025-26, HC 602, published on 14 September 2026, for what reason did her Department decide to close the Civil Service Jobs Applicant Tracking System Programme.

The Civil Service Jobs Applicant Tracking System (ATS) Transformation Programme entered early closure after a feasibility study, commissioned by the ATS Advisory Board and led by the Shared Services Strategy team, concluded that the strategic landscape had evolved and led to a recognition that it was no longer conducive to the successful delivery of the programme and realisation of benefits. Consequently, the programme sponsor decided to shift to a cluster-led recruitment technology approach in order to better support the development of cluster-led recruitment.

As Shared Service Clusters matured and implemented their Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) platforms, clusters preferred to adopt the recruitment and ATS modules natively integrated within their core HR/ERP systems rather than a standalone central platform.

The Cabinet Office will continue to maintain a central Civil Service Jobs board to provide a single, consistent point of entry for all applicants across the Civil Service, as well as maintaining a central pre-employment checking service.